It’s now been almost two months since I played the Grinch, and do you know what? My kids still haven’t asked for any of their toys. Kids don’t really need “toys” in the traditional sense (more on that below).Clean-up is tough, and teaching it really does take time (and practice, and patience…). (My) kids know how to make a mess regardless of how much or little stuff they have available to them.Here is what I took away from this experiment: But - do you know what? NOT ONCE did my kids ask for any of their other things back. Yes: even with virtually nothing in it, our playroom quickly devolved into A Huge Mess. And I figured it would solve the problem (or at least break the cycle, hah). In any event, I made a drastic decision: I took away everything - ALL THE THINGS. I tell them to clean up or I will take their toys they either complain about the injustice of the world or shrug and say they don’t mind at all, depending on the day. I offer to help them clean up they gladly accept my help and then proceed to play while I clean up around them. Here was my thinking: I ask them to clean up they whine. Without advocating that you quit shopping or “cancel the holidays” altogether (we’re not Scrooges!), it feels like being intentional with our purchases might exactly be what the world needs right now. Oh, and there’s a shortage of truck drivers.” Long story short: the supply chain is failing at multiple points and it’s no easy fix. (And yes - again - toilet paper!) As the manager of the Florida network of Costco stores told Meg earlier this month, “we have toilet paper waiting on cargo ships outside of L.A., we just can’t unload the stuff… and we’re out of warehouse space. This logistical crisis is going beyond the discretionary-spending sector and is already beginning to impact the availability of *essentials*, like food and medicine, as Amanda Mull recently wrote in The Atlantic. In short: it’s not necessarily a great time to (further) tax an overburdened system. are swamped - and consumers aren’t getting the “stuff” they ordered (and certainly not at the “Prime” speed they’re used to). As Slate reports, “Americans are currently buying a record amount of stuff, and that spending binge is crashing the transport and warehousing network meant to move it all.”Ĭargo ships camped out at Long Beach/Los Angeles port complex ( deluge of products into the country is creating a bottleneck, and the result is that the nation’s production factories, storage warehouses, transportation systems, workers, docks/ports, etc. Rather than being a problem of demand not meeting supply (as was the case early on… remember how hard it was to get a turkey or toilet paper last year?), this new wave of supply chain issues stems from widespread labor shortages (that’s a whole ‘nother issue…) met with economic success and unprecedented consumer demand and spending, especially at the more affluent levels. There’s been an on-and-off consumer supply chain crisis throughout the entirety of the pandemic, but on the eve of this year’s holiday season, the situation seems to present a fresh dilemma for consumers. 6 Gifting Alternatives For Families Things Are Weird This Year Wherever you find yourself, we wish you all the happiest and safest of holiday seasons this year. (We also have book picks for readers and listeners at every age - and books are always a great gift, IMO.) These contain carefully curated toy and gift options that are geared toward open-ended play, freedom of creativity, and long-lasting quality. If you have no interest in going down this rabbit hole and/or find yourself still in need of traditional gift options, we’ve left up our guides from previous years, which you can see here (2020) and here (2019), and you can always peruse our evergreen gift guides for different ages. Thus, we’ve been inspired to make this year’s holiday a Smalliday. We’re simply sending this editorial out into the world as an honest expression of where our team members are at this year, which is to say… feeling different about recommending a big holiday shopping bonanza. Now, we’re not suggesting that anyone boycott the holidays or cancel gifting altogether, nor would we presume to impose our own feelings of reticence upon anyone else.
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